Interview Question Bank

Every question should trace back to a capability the role genuinely needs. Pair this with the interview questions guide for how to design and score.

Who this resource is for

• Hiring managers preparing interviews
• Interview panels needing consistency
• Recruiters standardising question sets

Core recruitment concept

Structured interviews — the same core questions and a defined rubric for every candidate — reduce noise and bias and make candidates genuinely comparable.

Question bank by category

Behavioural

• “Tell me about a time you handled [relevant situation]. What did you do and what was the outcome?”
• “Describe a time something didn’t go to plan. How did you respond?”
• “Walk me through a decision you made with incomplete information.”

Role-fit

• “What does success look like in the first 90 days of this role?”
• “Which parts of this role energise you, and which are less appealing?”
• “How do you keep up to date in [role area]?”

Communication

• “Explain a complex topic from your work to a non-expert.”
• “How do you keep stakeholders informed when priorities change?”

Problem-solving

• “How would you approach [realistic scenario relevant to the role]?”
• “How do you decide what to prioritise when everything seems urgent?”

Manager / leadership

• “How do you set expectations and give feedback to a team?”
• “Describe how you’ve handled differing views within a team toward a decision.”

Questions to avoid (high level)

• Anything unrelated to the role’s requirements
• Personal questions about protected characteristics or life circumstances
• Brain-teasers with no connection to the work

Common mistakes

• Reading the bank verbatim instead of selecting deliberately
• Questions unrelated to the role
• No rubric, so “good answer” is decided afterwards
• Different questions for different candidates for the same role

Practical checklist

A copy-friendly checklist you can reuse.